The Rose and the Curse
by xplsov
Summary: Ruby Rose was happy. Well on her way to being a legendary huntress. Until she went on a hike with her parents, and found something that she really shouldn't have. After that, she only had one life goal, and seeing what happened to her, it could very well take that long too...
1. Prologue - Enter, Ruby Rose

**A/N: So, this idea popped into my head spontaneously, and I decided to roll with it. Still coming up with the finer plot details, but this isn't going to be an OP OC story, as that's what my other one is for. Not really going to be any OCs in this one, except for some minor characters maybe. Enjoy**

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><p>Ruby Rose had a nice life.<p>

That was what anyone who knew her would tell you.

Her mother was the legendary Summer Rose, the best Huntress of the time.

Her father was the headmaster at Beacon Academy.

For the past 3 years of her life, ever since she was 4, she has been training with her mother, father and Uncle Qrow to become the best fighter she could.

Her mother taught her survival techniques, hand-to-hand fighting, and how to use basic weapons like a dagger and simple gun.

Her father taught her Grimm lore, Remnant history and (god forbid) maths.

And her Uncle gave her the best lessons of all.

He taught her how to use Crescent Rose.

She was currently 7 years old, and was probably better at maths, history and Grimm lore than anyone at her local High School.

She often went on solo hikes and journeys that most adults wouldn't do. Her hand-to-hand skills were good enough to take down 20 men, armed or not. She could use a dagger better than Special Forces, and would easily match them on a shooting range.

And of course, the thing she put the most practice in was Crescent Rose. She could spin that Scythe around like it was a lightweight plastic toy, not the 60 kilo sniper-scythe it was. Although she didn't know it, she was probably as good as most people entering Signal when it came to her primary weapon.

Needless to say, Ruby spent most of her time learning things.

Now, while some people might say that this is what most Huntresses are capable at the age of seven, I will not, for that would be a lie. Ruby was well on her way to becoming a legendary Huntress, and even stealing her mother's position as best Huntress.

Of course it would all go wrong somewhere.

Because in this world of Grimm, and terror, there are many things that are hidden, and should _remain_ hidden.

But not everyone agrees.

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><p>'Mummy, where are we going?'<p>

'Your dad and I have decided that we should all go on a little holiday. A nice, relaxing, 200 km hike through the Emerald Forest was what came to mind.'

'Yay!'

Ruby Rose was excited, that much was certain. Her parents had never allowed her to go on a hike through Grimm territory. And that fact that it was a long one made Ruby practically explode with happiness.

She was most definitely not a normal girl.

Ruby ran to her room, and started pulling things together. She didn't bother with clothes, her own were designed to be tough and she wasn't worried by a little bit of dirt. She grabbed some hand sanitizer, soap, toilet paper, toothbrush and toothpaste and stuck them all into a bag. Then she got her sleeping bag and hiking tent, then her inflatable pillow, and finally a sleeping mat.

Her bag weighed about 4 kilos.

She ran downstairs, grabbed some eating gear, shoved that in, then got her skinning knife and gutting knife and put them in her belt. She put her bag on, grabbed some spare ammo clips, then picked up Crescent Rose and slid it into its spot.

Her parents looked at her, and smiled.

'Ruby, dear, we're not going till _after_ breakfast. Go and put your stuff next to ours, and make sure you pack some food. Then eat breakfast, and then we'll go.'

Her mum smiled and her, and gestured for her to move. Without delay, Ruby put her pack and weapons down next to her parents, then ran back, and wolfed down her breakfast. After that, she grabbed a few kilos of meat and vegetables and shoved them in her bag.

Her parents came out of the kitchen and put their packs on. Ruby did the same, grabbing her weapons, and they all left.

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><p>Halfway through their hike, something happened.<p>

'RUBY! Are you okay, what happened?'

'I don't know, I didn't see the hole, it must have been hidden. I'm fine though mummy. I think I see a way out, as well. See you in a minute!'

'Ruby, Wait!' but it was too late, and her parents watched their daughter run off into an unknown tunnel, which could be filled with any kind of Grimm.

Ruby, as it happened, was enjoying herself.

The cave was lit dimly by glowing vines on the walls. It was a single path, and although snaking around everywhere, it was heading, in general, up and to the right.

Suddenly, after turning a corner, Ruby found herself in a cave.

It was medium sized, and well lit from the glowing vines, which were everywhere. Ruby could see the exit just on the other side of the cave, but there was a problem.

She would have to get past the giant sleeping Deathstalker.

And I mean giant. It was easily 30 metres long, and 6 metres tall. Not including the tail.

For the first time, Ruby felt doubt. She had never seen anything living so large, and she really wished it had remained that way.

But regardless of all this, Ruby started sneaking past the Deathstalker anyway.

Then she fell in ANOTHER hole.

It wasn't Ruby's fault, the rock hiding it fell away when she stepped on it, sending her tumbling down.

She hit a ramp, and started sliding. Ruby couldn't see anything, as she was incredibly scared. She started to scre-

_Thunk._

_Ouchy! Who put that rock there?_ But despite hurting because of it, Ruby was glad the rock had stopped her. She looked around, and saw a small hole she could fit through.

With her pack and weapons, it was a tight squeeze, but she made it.

Crawling through the hole, Ruby found herself in another cave, this time with a staircase on the other side. The only thing in-between her and the staircase was some kind of black humanoid shape thing. It obviously wasn't human, as it sort of emitted a dark energy, and had no details other that it looked like a man, and was black.

Ruby took a step towards the stairs, and the thing snapped its gaze around towards her.

'RUBY ROSE. YOU HAVE TRESPASSED MY SACRED CAVE. WHY?'

'U-uh, because it was an a-accident?'

'ACCIDENTS DO NOT EXIST. IT IS ONLY FATE LAUGHING AT YOU. YOU ARE YOUNG, AND IGNORANT. I WILL LET YOU GO, BUT I MUST ALSO PUNISH YOU. UNTILL YOU REALISE THE PURPOSE OF YOUR LIFE, YOU WILL BE UNABLE TO TALK TO ANYONE. YOU SHALL BE A POISON TO A ROOM. YOU HAVE 3 DAYS TO MAKE IT HOME BEFORE YOU SEEK ISOLATION'

'W-Wha-' But Ruby was cut off by a flash of light, and suddenly she was flying up the corridor.

_This is gonna hurt._

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><p>Ruby's parents, as you can imagine, were shocked to see their little girl come flying out of the ground, along with all her stuff, and land right in front of them.<p>

They weren't as shocked to find her unconscious.

They did a quick check of her body, and found no injuries, which was surprising, but they weren't going to complain. They hauled her up, and held her and her stuff between them.

Ruby woke up to the sight of a fire, food in front of her, and her tent all set up. She groaned, stretched, and looked around. She saw her parents, sitting down, talking quietly so she couldn't hear what they were saying.

Ruby grabbed her food, ate it, and went to bed. She was exhausted. She remembered what the thing had said, but put off wondering about it until the next day.

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><p>3 days had passed since the meeting, and Ruby was really wondering what the thing had meant.<p>

She went downstairs, and tried to talk to her parents.

She was perfectly able to hold a conversation, so maybe the curse didn't work?

If only that were true.

Her parent's skin suddenly started bubbling, and they started screaming. Veins in their eyes burst, flooding them with blood, and their skin started to darken.

Then, abruptly, the screaming stopped.

Her parents were dead.

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><p>It took the Government 3 months to successfully isolate Ruby from the rest of the world, and everyone thought that she would spend the rest of her life in there.<p>

Except for Ruby.

She kept on studying, kept on training, kept on keeping active and training herself to become a hunter. With all her new spare time, it soon became obvious that she could become one of the best warriors in history.

She certainly hoped so.

She had a monster to kill.

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><p><strong>AN: And so ends the prologue. I hope you enjoyed that insight into my idea. I feel that this has more plot to it then my other story, and it's certainly easier to write right now. This is much shorter than my normal chapters, about half the size, but it is only the prologue, so they'll be longer in the future. Now, I would like some people to tell me what they think about this idea. We've already gotten Ruby's backstory, do you think I should have the other characters backstories as individual chapters, a little like the trailers when RWBY first came out, or just have them come naturally in the story? Tell me your opinion. I'll set up a poll on my profile, but you can also just leave your opinion in a review, or PM me. Just so you know, I'm fully expecting no one to give their opinions, and I'll just go with what I want. Please, prove me wrong though. I want to add a bit of interaction with the audience (if any), so please leave your opinion. Also review, so I know what you think of the story so far, and tell me where I screwed up. Till next time.**

**P.S. I'll update the Secrets Kept From Us soon, but I'm just figuring out where to go from here. The next few chapters are a bit of a dead spot for me, as its going through the boring bit of the story.**

**Also, do you think I can keep the T rating, what with that scene with Ruby's parents dying? I think its borderline, but if you guys think it should be M, I'll change it**


	2. Life in a Cuboid

**A/N: I'm back! After no-one voted (as expected), I've decided… TO DO BOTH! Okay, explanation time. When the characters meet Ruby, I'll upload the background chapter. Since I like to work with cliff-hangers (sorry), you'll probably be meeting the characters at the end of a chapter, so after that I'll upload the background, then we get right back into the story! Anyways, into the story!**

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><p>4 AM.<p>

That's the time Ruby Rose wakes up.

Since she was 7, since she was put in this cuboid, she's been waking up at 4 in the morning, so she can train for most of the day.

Her schedule hasn't changed since she made it. She didn't even need an alarm anymore.

She spent half-an-hour getting dressed, and having breakfast.

Then she jumped on her treadmill for a 40 mile run.

The confinement unit Ruby was in was basically a 10 by 10 by 3 meter cuboid, with 3 inch thick titanium plating lining it, and a special airlock door system.

After some research and testing, it was discovered that Ruby was the host to an airborne disease that kills anyone within 5 meters of her without fail.

It caused the skin to bubble, causing extreme pain to the victim.

Then major internal hemorrhaging occurs.

Blood fills the eyes and blinds the victim.

Due to blood leaving veins inside the body, skin can sometimes darken.

Death within 1 minute.

Her isolation unit is designed to make sure that no contaminated air leaves.

Food and water is placed in an airlock, which after use drains all air out, pumping it back into the containment room, and fills it with fresh, clean air.

Air comes in through a one-way valve.

Air goes out through special filters to clean it.

The only time people are allowed into the unit is when they are wearing a full hazmat suit, completely enclosed, with its own air supply.

Ruby has never leaved. While in theory she could while wearing a suit, it was decided not to risk it, and Ruby didn't mind.

She didn't like interruptions to her schedule.

In fact, the only thing Ruby did like was the idea of was killing the demon that made her kill her parents.

In the ways of internal decorating, the walls and roof was completely white, and the floor was tiled.

She had a king-sized bed in one corner, bathroom in another, and a large projector screen on the other wall.

A treadmill was pushed up next to the toilet, and a desk with a keyboard and mouse facing the screen.

The rest of the area was empty, except for the sound system built into the entire room.

The fact that it was soundproof was a good thing, considering the volume Ruby listened to music at.

After her 40 mile run, she would grab lunch out of the airlock, and eat it at the desk.

For the next 2 hours, Ruby would browse the internet, looking for any signs of the demon she hated, and when finding nothing she worked on her online courses.

Ruby was a very educated person.

After this, she would get out Crescent Rose, and practice with it. She had to use special blanks instead of real bullets, as she was in an enclosed space.

After spending an hour whirling around with her scythe, she would put in a special infrared device, and turn on the shooting simulator.

The wall with the projector screen was filled with small receivers, and a computer used these to determine where Ruby shot.

The screen would display a target, Ruby would shoot it, and the computer would calculate if she hit it or not.

After this, Ruby would read. She would read until dinner, then for some time after that.

Then she would practice martial arts, have a shower, and go to bed.

The next day, she would repeat.

She would repeat until she became too old, or when she managed to find a way to get out of the unit.

Surprisingly, the air lock door was never locked.

It was never locked, because Ruby would never leave until she was sure she wouldn't hurt anyone else.

Because despite wanting to find the demon that caused her so much pain, and sorrow, she would never cause harm to another.

She could never live with herself if she killed another person.

She already lived with far too much for a 14 year-old girl.

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><p>At first, all Ruby could do was grieve. What else would you expect of a 7 year-old?<p>

But, after 3 months of grieving, Ruby realized something.

All this was that… that creatures fault.

It was then that Ruby stopped grieving, and put all her emphasis on her hate for the monster that destroyed her family, and her life.

She established that routine, and found out as much as she could about the creature.

It took a while, but eventually she stumbled upon the book that told her everything.

Demons.

That was the answer.

Demons (_Daemones Grimm_) are a kind of Grimm that have long been forgotten.

They are things that only attack when found.

They lie in wait, sometimes for thousands of years, until someone stumbles upon them.

Then, they either kill them, or curse them.

They were not all equal though, the more powerful ones were more humanoid like, but the weakest were shapeless clouds of shadow.

The demon Ruby encountered happened to look almost exactly like a human.

Only one demon was that powerful.

Azrael.

Reading what he'd done gave Ruby nightmares for years.

Further research uncovered that after he was discovered, he would move to a new hiding place, always somewhere old, and with something of value nearby. Ruby missed the valuable thing in the tomb she found him in, but if she went back, she would probably find it.

Ruby then started checking the news, to try and find any sign of his presence.

She found all the previous places in recorded history that he had been discovered, and tried to plot a course.

She found as many things of value that were supposedly hidden throughout history and mythology.

She tried everything to find him.

She never did.

The government had analysts analyse what the demon said, but all they could come up with is that Ruby needed to find out whatever purpose he thinks she has.

When asked what he meant by Ruby never being able to talk to anyone again, they had to think before answering;

'If an Astronaut was the only person in space, would he be able to talk to anyone?'

And that was true for Ruby, for she was the only one who she could really interact with. Sure, she could talk to screens, and people through phones, but really, she was alone.

Never to talk face to face with anyone ever again, unless some miracle occurs.

Ruby didn't believe in miracles anymore.

Ruby had become completely detached from the human population.

She was classified as a highly functioning sociopath.

She was cold, cruel, she analysed everything and she didn't care about anyone.

But when faced with conversation, she put on a façade, one where she experienced emotions, and cared about what people said.

But always with those cold, silver eyes, analyzing you, sizing you up, determining your usefulness.

But never considering killing.

The one thought that never crossed Ruby's mind was the one to kill anyone. Only to kill Grimm, and Azrael.

The only person Ruby cared about was herself, so this might seem odd, but Ruby held the firm belief that if she killed someone, she wouldn't be able to bear the thought of another soul crushing down upon her. Every day, she could feel the weight of her parents, and she didn't think she could hold any more.

So, for the next 8 years of her life, things continued as normal.

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><p>GOVERNMENT KEEPING 15 YEAR-OLD GIRL IN CONFINEMENT<p>

That was the headline Ruby woke up to on her 15th birthday.

Upon seeing it, she sighed. Now she would have to deal with journalists interrupting her day.

She actually enjoyed how her life was going at the moment, she still felt like she wasn't ready to face the world, primarily because she would accidentally kill part of it.

She really didn't want some stupid reporter destroying everything for her.

She kept on training through her day, and managed to make it till lunch before she was interrupted.

'_Ruby, we need you to give a statement to these reporters, otherwise they'll never leave._'

Ruby sighed, and opened up the communication system used so she could talk with people.

Onscreen, suddenly around 100 reporters appeared, all crowding around the monitor, trying to get a glimpse of the girl.

'I will have you all know that I enjoy my life as it is, and this isolation chamber is for the best. I can tell you that because of some unfortunate events in my past, I happen to be the host to a special disease, and if it wasn't for the wall in between me and you, you'd all be dead right now. Good day.'

With that, Ruby closed the program, and went back to searching for any information on Azrael.

That was not Ruby's last encounter with reporters, as they all seemed to want to get some kind of special piece of information, but Ruby never gave them anything, and they soon learned that talking to her was fruitless, and worked with what they had.

But she gave them enough, and it sparked some interest in many parties.

Only one ever approached her.

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><p>Ozpin sitting at his desk, sipping coffee, flicking through his news feeds, when one headline caught his eyes. He clicked on the link, and through it quickly. His eyes narrowed upon seeing the name.<p>

_Ruby Rose. Where have I seen that name before?_

Ozpin stood, cane in hand, and walked over to his files. After a brief flicking through, he found what he was looking for.

As he read, his brain was a whirlwind of thoughts and ideas.

He started to smile.

'Glynda, could you come here please?'

'Yes, professor, what is it?'

'I think I've found the right person for Operation Freefall.'

Glynda looked at him, 'how did you find this person?'

'The paper.'

Following that quick conversation, the new Headmaster of Beacon set out to find out as much about the girl as he could.

After learning everything he could, he decided that she was the perfect person.

Now all he needed to do was find a way to stop her accidentally killing everyone.

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><p><strong>3 YEARS LATER...<strong>

Ruby was just browsing the internet, having finished all the courses she had undertaken, and nothing new about Azrael had popped up since she had last checked.

So now she spent a bit of time exploring the internet, analyzing how people interacted, figuring out the best ways to fit into society.

I never said she was browsing normally.

So it was while Ruby was learning how to fit in properly that her phone went off.

_Mirror, Mirror on the wall,_

_True hope lies beyond the coast,_

_You're a damned kind, can't you see,_

_That the winds will change?_

_Mirror, Mirror on the-_ 'Hello?' Ruby said coldly.

'Ruby Rose,' said the stranger on the other end, 'you have silver eyes.'

'Who is this?' Ruby responded, keeping up the façade, while internally trying to figure out how they knew her name and eye color, or even better, her number.

'I am the man who took over after you father… died.' said the voice.

'Ozpin.' Ruby spat, feeling the urge to pound him.

'Yes, that is my name. Miss Rose, I wish to make you an offer, one which I'm sure you won't be able to refuse.'

'What is it, Ozpin, what is it that I have that you could possibly want? Everything in here is something you could easily buy at a store, in fact, the only thing of worth I have is myself, so what could I do for you in this confinement chamber of mine?'

'Nothing. No, inside that small room you call home you can do nothing, and you know it. I'm offering you a way out.'

'Impossible, the only way I'll ever leave this room is dead, or when I finally realize what my "purpose in life" is.'

Ozpin laughed, 'That's what you would think, but you also know that if you're kept with a wall between you and the world, you can be anywhere. I'm going to offer you that wall.'

'So you're giving me a hazmat suit? Oh joy of joys, that's just what I wanted, it's not as if I could have gotten one at any stage of my time here.'

'This is not just a hazmat suit, in fact it's nothing like that at all.'

'What then? A cure? A magical barrier between me and the world? Or are you not going to tell me?'

'I will tell you, or rather, show you. My assistant and I would like to come around and talk to you in person.'

'Fine then. Come around, and show me this magical suit of yours.'

'All magic really is, Miss Rose, is science that we don't understand. I'll see you tomorrow.'

With that, the line went dead, leaving Ruby in solitude once more.

She didn't bother to tell the guards that she was getting a visitor, they listen into her calls anyway.

Instead, she thought about what Ozpin said, _surely he can't make something that would protect people from me without it being some huge airtight suit, right?_ She shook these thoughts out of her head, and focused on what she had been doing before she was interrupted.

But Ozpin's parting words echoed through her head, and she thought she would be seeing something very soon that could well come under this topic.

LINE BREAK

Professor Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch walked into DRAD (Defense Research and Development)'s headquarters, and asked the lady at the front desk where to find one Ruby Rose.

'I'm sorry, sir. We don't have Ruby Rose held in this building.' A lie, Ozpin knew she was here.

'I have an appointment with Miss Rose, please do not make me late, if you value your job.'

The lady looked at Ozpin, then checked her computer.

'Just follow the corridor to your left until you get to a locked door, talk to the guards there. Have a nice day.' With that, she turned back to what she was doing previously.

Ozpin gestured for Glynda to follow him, and walked down the corridor. When they got to the door, they had to repeat the process, until they were finally let into the area where Ruby's cuboid was.

Glynda made a move towards the Hazmat suits in the corner, but Ozpin stopped her.

'We should wear our suits, so Ruby can see them in action.' Glynda hesitated.

'Sir, these haven't been tested, the risk is too high-' Ozpin just looked at her.

'Yes, sir.'

Glynda opened the suitcase she had been carrying, and pulled out a set of clothes identical to the ones she was wearing.

Almost.

That was the key word. She also gave Ozpin his set, then pulled out a final set of clothes.

First off was a black skirt, with red hems. Then a black belt with a Rose symbol on it, spaces for bullets, and a place around the back for a weapon. There was also a black blouse

Then she pulled out dark stockings, as well as a set of black combat boots with a red outline.

To top off the image, she pulled out a red cape, with a hood.

These were to be Ruby's clothes, after all, all she had at the moment were some shirts and jeans that the facility had bought for her.

They put on their special clothes, and walked into the airlock.

The door hissed shut, and they were in darkness for a moment, but then the other side opened up, and they went into Ruby's room.

As they looked around at everything, they heard a voice from the other side.

'Where are your hazmat suits, or did you want to die horribly?'

They turned around, and standing there, holding a massive scythe, was Ruby Rose.

'Oh, but we are wearing protective clothing. These clothes are lined with special materials that neutralize anything that shouldn't be in the air, and a special projection field over our exposed heads and hands keeps them safe as well.'

To prove that it worked, he walked right up to Ruby. Then they waited tensely.

10 seconds, no reaction.

30 seconds.

1 minute.

After 5 minutes, Ruby finally accepted that it worked.

'So this is your, "magical technology," that you were talking about.'

'Yes, and here is yours.'

Ruby took the clothes and examined them. She then went into the small bathroom and changed.

Walking out, she span around. 'How do I look?'

'Ready to kill a demon. There is a holster on the back of the belt for your weapon, and-'

'WAIT! Why did you say that? What do you want me to do?'

Ozpin looked at Ruby.

'Ruby Rose, we need you to kill a certain demon. In fact, we want you to kill all of them.'

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><p><strong>AN: Here we go guys, the first chapter completed. I hope you guys enjoy it, as this story has gotten more support that I thought it would. This chapter was mainly just background stuff, and setting up the plot. What do you think of my clothes idea? I tried not to go all 'death by science stuff' in this story, like I did with my other one. Anyhow, I've decided to run a small test. If you've read this Authors note, and you decide to review, or send me a PM or something, put; 'the swallow flies south at winter' at the start of your thing. If you didn't read this, you won't put anything there, as you didn't read this. I just want to see how many people actually read these notes. Next chapter, we get into the journey. Who will Ruby Rose meet first? You'll have to wait and see. Till next time. **

**P.S. If you can name the song I got the lyrics from (Ruby's ringtone), you are officially awesome.**


	3. The Girl with the Parasol

**A/N: Just for clarification, at the end of last chapter, Ruby was 18. It went from Ruby being 14, to When Ruby first got into her quarantine cuboid, to when Ruby was 15, then to when Ruby was 18. It's just the way the story went. Anyways, onwards! To story!**

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><p>Ruby Rose stepped outside for the first time in 11 years. Things had changed a lot.<p>

The small line of shops that used to be opposite were now gone, and replaced with a giant shopping mall.

The old signs and lamps and traffic lights were all replaced with new, holographic ones.

But not only that, the entire place just seemed more alive, but also grayer, and duller.

Maybe it was just her perception of the world, but either way, she had no idea what to do.

'Here is your new scroll, it's the latest version, and it has a direct satellite connection, which is very expensive, but means you can use the internet or make calls wherever you are. It has GPS, and the co-ordinates of where we think a lesser demon is hiding. If you kill that, we'll start moving upwards towards the grand prize.'

Ruby just looked at him, 'I'll be fine. I'll contact you when I've finished.' With that, she walked off, opening her new scroll, and checking the co-ordinates.

All Ruby had on her was her special clothes, her scythe, spare ammo, her scroll, and enough lien to get her on her way.

She started walking towards the edge of the city. She looked at her scroll and plotted the route she would take, then closed her scroll and just walked.

* * *

><p>'Roman!' Cinders voice came from behind him, and Roman cursed silently.<p>

He span around, 'Cinder, what are you doing here? Don't you have some great and mighty plan to not tell me about?' He was still annoyed about being kept in the dark.

'The plan just progressed a few steps. Ruby Rose is out of her cage, and is working for Ozpin to kill demons. He must have come up with a way to stop her… condition… from killing everyone.'

'So what do you want me to do? Kill her? Capture her? _Seduce_ her?'

'Send in Neo. Tell her to befriend Ruby Rose, and work with her. If she can do it, we'll have an agent on the inside, and we can get her to make Ruby come to us. It shouldn't be hard, we just need to make her a better offer than Ozpin. She will come to us, and we will be able to move on to phase 3 of the wonderfully brilliant plan.'

'And what would this 'wonderfully brilliant' phase 3 entail?'

'Taking down the government of this corrupt country.'

Roman smiled, 'That I can get behind.'

* * *

><p>Ruby didn't want to admit it, but she had no idea what to do. It was night, and she was stuck in downtown Vale.<p>

This wouldn't have been a problem, except she didn't have enough money to sleep somewhere tonight, and breaking the law this early on was not part of her plan to get people to like her.

So she was stuck wandering around, trying to find someone to take her home for the night that didn't want to sleep with her.

Unsurprisingly, she was failing massively.

Her best 'cute' smile and attitude only made people try to sleep with her, and anything else made them walk away.

She was just about ready to give up. She could always spend this time walking, but it's always a better idea to sleep at night.

She headed down the road to see if she could find an unoccupied alley to sleep in, or something, when someone caught her eye.

It was a girl, with pink hair on one side, and brown on the other. This matched her eyes perfectly, and with her strange walk, and grin like nothing in the world could stop her, she looked interesting indeed.

What was more surprising was her parasol out, even though it was night. Also the fact that she was walking right at Ruby was strange, most people tried to avoid her.

The girl reached Ruby, and they stood, facing each other. They had similar builds, and seemed to be around the same age.

The girls smile grew larger, and she blinked, her eyes switching their colors.

Wait.

Eyes switched colors? Eyes don't do that, not unless a semblance is involved.

'Hello, my name's Neopolitan, but my friends just call me Neo. Who are you?'

'Ruby, Ruby Rose. Why were you walking towards me, and how did your eyes switch colour?'

She blinked, and her smile only grew. She started to creep Ruby out a bit.

'I was walking towards you, Ruby, because I saw you on the street looking desperate, and decided to help you. My eyes change colour because of my semblance.' Neo blinked, and her eyes swapped again.

Ruby grinned at her, but couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with that smile, and the way this girl just _was._

But she was being friendly, and Ruby needed a place to stay, if this girl offered (without the catch of sex), then who was she to say no? Besides, it probably was that the girl was like her, using a facade to fit into society.

'Well, if you're offering a place to sleep for the night, I'm all ears.' Ruby grinned back at her.

Neo just tilted her head, and blinked a few times. Ruby briefly felt like a mouse staring into a cat's eyes.

Then Neo gestured for Ruby to follow, and they walked off.

Ruby never considered that Neo might be trying to take advantage, as Ruby was never taught to take care around strangers. But Ruby was in the mindset that she could beat anything, or anyone in her way.

* * *

><p>Yang Xiao Long was drunk.<p>

Again.

Despite being only 17, she spent most nights at parties, nightclubs, and anywhere else she could find alcohol.

She was slightly disappointed this time. Normally she could rope in whoever she wanted and take them home for the night, but at the nightclub she found a small, redheaded girl who one, wasn't drunk, and didn't look like she was planning to get that way, and two, refused to get into the back room with her and 'get a little dirty'.

She was really cute, too.

Yang decided that she really wanted to get to know this girl more, because even as drunk as she was, she could notice that the girl was obviously a warrior, probably a huntress, and had enough sense to not get in bed with her.

That last one was a first for Yang.

So right there, in a ditch somewhere on the side of the road, Yang vowed to find this girl, find her name, and then sleep with her.

And if she was lucky, she'd see her when she arrived at Beacon.

_It's a pity they have a zero alcohol policy… _was her last thought before slipping into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>Neo didn't speak again for the rest of the night. When they got to her house, she gestured to a note saying her father, a man called Roman Torchwick, wouldn't be home till the next day, as he had work commitments.<p>

Neo then grabbed herself a drink, gestured to ask if Ruby wanted one, then went to bed.

Ruby followed suit, wondering why she wasn't talking anymore. _Maybe she just talked to get to know be a little bit. Well, if she keeps quiet, I'll get more time to think, and do my research, though I wonder why she decided to help me._

Ruby considered all the possibilities, but couldn't come up with an answer. She fell asleep with worries about what she may have to do for the girl.

The next morning, she woke to the sensation of being poked. She opened one eye, and saw Neo poking her with the tip of her umbrella.

'Come on downstairs, my father is here, and he wants to meet you. Then maybe after that, we could have a duel.' Her smile grew wider at the prospect.

Ruby pulled herself out of bed, looking at the clock.

6 AM.

Ruby had slept in.

After getting over the initial shock, she considered how it could have happened.

_I did stay up till midnight, maybe that's why._

Ruby grabbed her scythe, and slid it into the holster, and walked downstairs.

She was met with a man in a white suit, with a cigar in his mouth, and a bowler hat. He also had a cane in his hand.

'Why hello, red! When Neo here told me she had dragged home a girl last night, I certainly wasn't expecting to see a warrior. What's your name?'

'Ruby Rose. And I was… kicked out of where I have been staying for the last little while.'

'Rose, hmm? Wasn't that the name of the old headmaster of Beacon? Hmm…'

Roman trailed off, looking at Ruby. 'You're that girl who was in the containment unit! The one with the deadly disease! How come Neo and I aren't dead?'

'This clothing is designed to keep everyone safe. How did you recognize me?'

'It was the name, and the eyes.' Roman laughed. 'Well, if you need anything, just come here and ask. And if you go off on some grand adventure, you should take Neo here, she's been bored for ages.'

At those words, Ruby became suspicious of the pair. They were practically telling Ruby that they wanted to get into her mission. They could have any number of reasons, maybe they even wanted to stop her.

Ruby ate her breakfast in silence, and remembered to thank them for it afterwards. Then Neo pulled her out the door, saying they were going to have a duel.

Ruby wondered how good she would be.

* * *

><p>Yang had a hangover, but she didn't mind, as today she finally got to go to Beacon.<p>

She planned to go dry for the entire semester, then during the break between the first and second, she would catch up on her drinking.

She yelled a goodbye to her parents, and jumped on her bike to drive over to the airship station.

She remembered her vow from last night, and grinned. Maybe she would get to meet the mysterious girl on the airship, and if not, than hopefully at Beacon itself.

She didn't see the girl on the airship, nor at the speech Ozpin gave, but as she was walking around afterwards, she heard the sounds of fighting somewhere to her right. She headed off to investigate.

As she rounded a corner, she saw what appeared to be a training ground, and inside she saw none other than the girl from last night, with a giant scythe, and was swinging it around like it was a plastic toy.

She absolutely demolished the training bots, and Yang could see on the screen that it was a new school record. Yang heard clapping, and a girl walked up to Ruby, and patted her on the back.

The girl had pink and brown hair.

Neo.

Yang felt herself slipping, and decided to give these two the biggest ass whooping they've ever had.

* * *

><p>Neo pulled her along the streets of Vale, her parasol on her shoulders and she walked as if she was the queen of the world.<p>

She didn't talk, and it seemed more and more likely that she only talked if she really needed to.

They turned a corner, and Ruby saw Beacon academy on the cliffs in front of them.

Ruby felt a massive feeling of guilt shoot through her. She stopped walking and just stared at the spirals and buildings that made up her father's old school.

She felt a tear roll down her cheeks, and she quickly wiped it off, and kept on walking. She didn't need those emotions right now, she had a fight to win.

They walked up to the cliff face, and started walking around, till they reached a staircase. It ran underneath the path from where the airships landed, and exited next to the fountain in the school.

As they went up the stairs, Ruby noticed airships landing.

_It must be the new students. I hope I don't run into any of them, conversations are something I want to avoid at the moment._

When they got to the top of the stairs, it seemed all the students were inside the main hall at this point. Ruby and Neo walked towards the training ground.

Neo gestured for Ruby to jump in, and turned to the control panel.

'Aren't you going to fight me?'

'Yes, but first you should warm up against some robots, don't you think?'

As she said that, she pressed a button, and 30 Atlesian Knights popped out of hatches in the ground, and ran at Ruby. Ruby just grinned, and pulled out her scythe. She span around, and dashed into the fight, swinging her scythe around, destroying everything.

She finished in under 10 seconds. A message popped up on the wall, saying that was a new school record.

Meaning that she was better than all the students here.

Neo walked out, clapping and patted her on the back. 'My turn!' she said, and Ruby started to get out of the arena, when suddenly a blonde girl dropped into the arena, her eyes red.

Neo just smiled, 'I'll handle this,' and walked towards the girl. Ruby recognized her as a girl who tried to get in bed with her last night. Neo and the girl walked up to each other, and stood there for a moment.

Then the girl punched Neo in the face.

Or at least she tried to, Neo flicked her parasol around and knocked her fist back. She stepped back and opened her parasol, putting it on her shoulder, and smiled and the girl.

Ruby watched in awe as the girl punched and kicked at Neo over and over again, and Neo just dodged around it, still keeping her posture of someone who was better than everyone.

As the attacks grew in power and speed, Neo folded up her Parasol and used it to block some punches and kicks, before kicking the girl in the side of the head, knocking her to the ground. Her Parasol was open again.

The girl started to get up, and Neo jumped into the air and span around, kicking at the ground where the girl was moments before. The girl punched at Neo, but she just hooked the girl's fist under her Parasol, pulled her arm through, and kicked her in the face again.

The smile never left Neo's face.

She kicked backwards, knocking the girl to the ground. Neo cartwheeled over and behind the girl, but the girl punched at Neo, firing her gauntlets at her, but Neo's parasol was unfolded to block the shot, and she span around, hitting the girl with the Parasol.

She swung again, the girl fired, but Neo dodged under it, and knocked her in the face, than swang at her stomach, but the girl dodged. Neo kept on pushing and pushing, but the girl just punched through her attack.

Neo back flipped away, and sat down on a chair, her parasol open, and blinked at the girl.

This just infuriated the girl, and she walked towards her with purpose. Neo cocked her head to the side, and blinked at the girl again. The girl punched at her, but Neo span her parasol around, and pushed the punch of target, she sat back, her legs spinning around, pushed up to a handstand, and kicked at the girl, than did a back-flip and kicked the girl again, but the girl blocked both of these.

She kept on jumping and spinning, kicking at the girl, until she was finally sent flying backwards.

The girl cocked her gauntlets, and shot at Neo, but she just span around on one foot, putting the parasol behind her, and acted as if it was just a sunny day. Then as the girl came at her she span out of the way, folded her parasol, and used it like a double bladed knife. She blocked and slashed with it, then let her hands slip down to the handle and swung it around, knocking the girl's next punch out of the way.

Neo span around, kicking at the girl, but the girl grabbed her foot, and threw her around. Neo just span through the air gracefully, landed, and ran right back at the girl. She hooked her parasol around the girl's waist, jumped up and span around her. She grabbed the girl's hand, and went over her head. Neo then used the girls hand to spin them both around, then came down, lodged her feed into the girl's side, and threw her out of the training grounds.

Neo folded her parasol, tilted her head, and turned around. Her smile grew, and she waltzed towards where the girl landed. Neo then pulled a blade out of the bottom of her parasol. Ruby ran up to her.

'Don't kill her. She's not worth it, and the police will start asking questions.'

Neo looked at Ruby, and nodded.

'I don't think I want to fight you at the moment though, it might destroy my pride.' Ruby stated, then leaned down over the girl.

'What is your name?'

The girl spat in Ruby's face. Ruby just smiled, then kicked the girl hard in the ribs, breaking them. The girl screamed

'I said, what is your name?' Ruby repeated. 'Or I'll let my friend her do whatever she wants. I'm sure she'll enjoy it, the grin on her face is the biggest I've ever seen.'

'Yang… Xiao… Long…' The girl said.

'Good!' Ruby said, her voice happy and cheerful and innocent.

Then Ruby kicked Yang in the head. Hard.

Ruby and Neo walked off.

'I aimed for the spot of the head responsible for memory, so hopefully she'll forget this entire thing.'

Neo just nodded, smiling at Ruby. 'I just decided that I like you a whole lot more, after the way you got her name.' Ruby grinned at her.

'The same could be said about me, after I saw you fighting her. Maybe I'll let you come with me after all, although I would really like to know why you and your father went to all the effort to set up us meeting so we could meet.'

Neo looked at Ruby carefully. 'I'm not an idiot.'

Neo nodded, 'I'll tell Roman.'

* * *

><p>'So, you've already figured out that we're planning something?' Roman asked, looking at Ruby.<p>

She just nodded. 'As long as you don't stop me from achieving my goal, I really don't see what the problem is with helping you a bit.'

Roman laughed. 'We'll help you achieve your goal. That is unless your goal is to stop us. Okay, Ruby Rose. We want you to join me and some friends of mine. We run a criminal Syndicate, and what we want to do is overthrow this government, and put a new one in its place. One that isn't corrupted, and also one that lets us do what we want.'

Roman and Neo turned around, and looked at Ruby.

Ruby considered what he said. 'You'll help me?' she asked

'Yes.'

'Then I don't see why I shouldn't help you. Besides, I'm beginning to enjoy Neo' company.'

Ruby grinned at them both. They grinned back.

The plan was working better than they even imagined.

* * *

><p>'Sir, one of our new students has been in a fight. Half her ribs are broken, and she has a severe head injury. She has partial amnesia, and cannot remember anything in the last 3 days.'<p>

'Do we know who did it?'

'It seems that it was Neo…'

'What is it, Glynda?'

'And Ruby Rose.'

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I decided to cut the chapter short, so the ending may seem a little rushed, but I still think it's fairly realistic. Anyways, 2 characters introduced in this chapter! We'll get a bit of both their backstories next time. This was a bit of a plot twist for me, because I originally was planning to have Team RWBY get together. But after seeing Neo in the new episode, I just had to change things. On the bright side, that's another plot arc added to this story. Yes, Yang is 17, because I decided screw keeping the ages relative, she'll be younger than Ruby. Neo is 18 as well. Blake and Weiss will be coming into this story later on, as they won't be meeting at school. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Expect a few short stories from me involving Neo, as she just slammed into my most favourite character in RWBY. Till next time.**


	4. Yang and Neo - Background

**A/N: You guys should review more. I never get to hear what you think. In other news, 1.4k views! Yay! Oh, and I'm putting my other story on Hiatus, probably until mid-December.**

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**BTW, this is the background chapter for Yang AND Neo. I'll try to upload another chapter later today or tomorrow.**

* * *

><p>Yang was a girl who grew up always getting what she wanted.<p>

She was born into the Xiao Long family, a crime dynasty, in Patch.

From a young age, she had thugs with her to do her bidding. This caused a very violent childhood.

If anyone tried to bully her, they would find themselves locked in torture chambers, while their friends watched as they were pulled apart.

If someone disagreed with her, they would be left battered in a gutter on the side of the street.

At one point, it got so bad that if people in her class didn't bow to her, their families would be killed.

At the age of 8, her father stopped this. It was drawing way too much attention, so he told her that she must from then on learn how to look after herself.

At first, she didn't care, but when people realised that she didn't have power over them anymore, they "put her in her place."

She was left for dead, with almost every bone in her body broken, in a ditch.

She would have died if Neo didn't save her.

At a young age, Neo's eyes were always pure silver, and, partnered with her strange, tri-colored hair, portrayed a look of innocence. Innocence, which she most certainly didn't possess.

Neo saved Yang's life, and in return, Yang befriended Neo, and helped her live a better life.

After that, Yang hired a boxing master to teach her how to fight. Neo learned as well, but she learned with her father, Roman Torchwick.

Yang's father, who was not a cruel man on the whole, offered Neo and Roman a place to live, as thanks for saving his daughters life.

At this stage in life, Yang was actually quite shy, and Neo wouldn't shut up.

When at school, Yang and Neo always looked out for each other. Neo taught Yang how to be friendlier, and come out of her shell.

She also helped Yang control her anger when people bullied them.

By the age of 10, both were competent fighters, and after beating back some bullies, were left mainly alone.

For her birthday, Yang received the first version of her gauntlets, Ember Celica. Upon seeing this, Neo was slightly upset. All she had as a weapon was an umbrella, which, to Yang's complete amusement, she had learned to fight with.

Neo's style always had a bit of swagger in it. And while fighting, had developed a habit of grinning at her opponent, and not talking.

So Roman, with the collaboration of Yang's father, and the smiths that he employed, built a very strange weapon.

It was a parasol.

A frame made of an incredibly tough titanium alloy, with a blade that could come out of the middle. It was white, and could be folded and unfolded with the press of a button. When unfurled, the canopy was strong enough to stop even a direct hit with Yang's high powered rounds.

To say that Neo loved it would be an understatement.

They spent every day fighting, and were very evenly matched.

It was the best time of their young lives.

Naturally, that's where it all went wrong.

* * *

><p>At the age of 12, it was discovered that Neo had a strange genetic disease, one that stopped her from growing. She was already a short girl, barely toppling 5 ft, and she wasn't going to get any taller.<p>

Yang, who was 5 ft 6, and still growing, just laughed it off, saying that it didn't mean anything.

That's when Neo started to talk less and less.

Everyone noticed it, but thought that it was just one of those teenager things.

Yang went on like nothing ever happened, after all, she had been a shy girl when she was younger, maybe that shyness just rubbed off on Neo, like Neo's socialness rubbed off on Yang.

Neo started devoting much more time into her combat. Whenever she fought, the main thing that came across was sassiness.

People started to like her much more, as she came across as the "cool girl". This in turn boosted Yang's standing, as she was Neo's friend, and someone who would actually talk to you.

Neo's semblance came first. It came with Neo being able to change her eye color. She would switch too having one eye brown, and the other pink, just like her hair. She flipped the eyes every so often. Sometimes they would line up with her hair, sometimes they would be opposite.

She would never be consistent in this. One day only switching eye colors at the start of the fight, the next switching them all the time, just to distract the opponent.

When not fighting, preparing to fight, or trying to capture the interest of people, her eyes would return to their standard silver.

But of course, this wasn't her actual semblance.

No one, short for Roman, actually knew what her semblance was, or had seen it in action.

Yang found her semblance when she was 14.

Someone was unfortunate enough to try and mug her.

Yang fought back, but the mugger had backup, backup which swung a bat into the back of Yang's head.

All this succeeded in doing was piss Yang off more. Her eyes turned red, and she punched the mugger through 3 buildings, and onto the main street.

After discovering this, Yang rushed home to tell everyone.

With some experimenting, they managed to find out what her semblance could do.

But still, they did not know what Neo's was.

Later on, it was seen to be kept secret so she had an advantage over everyone else.

It was only when Neo was 15, and a certain newspaper article came out, did they find out what it was.

Yang read the article first.

Afterwards, she ran through her family's palace to find Neo.

After reading the article, Neo looked at Yang, then jumped backwards, and seemingly teleported away.

Yang just blinked, looking around for her.

Then she ran off, trying to find her again.

In was easier than expected, she turned around the corner, and Neo was right in front of her.

'Neo, what was that? Is your semblance, teleportation or something?'

Neo didn't answer, she just stood there, looking at Yang.

'Neo?'

Yang walked up to her, and inspected her closely. She didn't seem to be moving at all,

Yang tapped her lightly, and she shattered into pieces. Yang recoiled from the small explosion, then noticed Neo standing in front of her.

She had her parasol on her shoulder, like she was out for a walk in the sun, and she was smiling, her eyes matching her hair.

In her other hand, Yang's fathers head was held.

The rest of the body was not there with it.

Yang was shocked, then shock turned into disbelieve, then betrayal, then pain, then anger.

Yang's eyes flashed red, and she charged at Neo, Ember Celica cocked on her wrists.

Yang punched her, but she shattered once again.

Yang spun around, and saw Neo waltz through the door.

Yang chased, but Neo evaded. She met up with Roman, and the both of them fought their way out of the palace, and out of the city.

Neo had invaded Yang's life. She had saved her, befriended her, taught her, fought with her, and taken advantage of every benefit of being the friend of the head of a massive crime syndicate's daughter for years and years, just so that when the right time came around, she could kill Yang's father.

Yang sank to her knees. The spent millions of Lien trying to locate the pair, but to no avail. The only clue Yang had was a girl in confinement, and girl by the name of Ruby Rose.

After this, Yang started to drink. She could be found most nights in a bar, drinking away her sorrows. Then when they were gone, she would bed some random off the street, and put them right back there afterwards.

This went on for a while, before Yang decided that she wanted to become a Huntress. To stop people like Neo.

She spent her days training, and her nights drinking.

She hadn't told anyone about her plan, they all thought that she wanted to kill Neo.

And she did, but being a huntress meant she could do it _and get away with it._

She moved to Vale, and cut all connections to her crime syndicate.

* * *

><p>Neo, after reading the article, knew it was time to leave this place.<p>

So she loped off the head of her best friend's dad, and made to exit.

Her best friend seeing her with her dad's head was a small problem, but she escaped anyway, meeting with her father, and running off to Vale.

Once there, they started planning on what they would do once they got this girl in their grasps. It was through this planning, and subsequent research, that they stumbled upon Cinder.

When hearing what they planned to do, Cinder was more than happy to supply them with a base and people to work with.

But of course, this meant that they were pulled into Cinder's plans. They didn't mind, all they needed was the girl, and having a bit of extra employment on the side was always a benefit.

Neo wasn't always planning this. At the start, she really was a friend of Yang's. But after discovering that Yang killed her mother, was responsible for the torturing of her father, kidnapping of her siblings, along with throwing their family into a ditch, she evolved naturally into the person she became.

She vowed revenge, and had been planning that for ages.

Yang's father's head would have rolled that day, even if she hadn't seen the newspaper article, but upon seeing it, she got ideas on how to use this girl to completely destroy Yang.

Roman was, naturally, fully supportive of Neo's ideas, and the two of them had been responsible for multiple acts against the Xiao Long dynasty.

The next few years were filled with crime, plotting, and being kept in the dark by Cinder.

But revenge never left her mind.

She would get there, even if it cost the world to do so.

She would have her revenge.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Short chapter, I know, but it's only backstory, therefore I can only do so much to make it longer. **

**A lot of stuff is introduced here, it's very important to the overall story.**

**Also, please review, it really lets me know what you guys feel, or want.**

**And feel free to PM me if you want to talk about something, I've got tons of free time.**

**New chapter (hopefully) tomorrow, along with (possibly) a one-shot.**

**Till next time.**


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